Acucela Inc. Appoints Brian O'Callaghan to its Board of Directors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acucela Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for sight-threatening eye diseases, today announced that it has appointed Brian O'Callaghan to its Board of Directors.

"We are so pleased to welcome Brian to our Board. He brings to Acucela an impressive background and record of achievement in building biotechnology companies. He has also held leading positions in a number of large pharmaceutical companies and is experienced in both corporate and commercialization strategy. Today's appointment signifies our ongoing commitment to building a fully integrated company," stated Ryo Kubota, MD, PhD, Chairman, President and CEO, Acucela Inc.

About Brian O'Callaghan

Mr. O'Callaghan is currently President & CEO of Sangart Inc. and is a member of Sangart's Board of Directors. Previously, he was Chief Commercial Officer at NPS Pharmaceuticals, where he led important corporate strategic initiatives; and served as General Manager at Covance, where he was successful in restructuring and rebuilding two core business areas. At Novartis Pharmaceuticals, as North American General Manager of Transplantation & Immunology; and also Infectious Diseases, Transplantation & Immunology, he was instrumental in several successful product launches, in-licensing deals and growing key businesses. He co-founded a biopharmaceutical company, BioPartners, in Switzerland; served as General Manager, Merck Biopharmaceuticals; and has held various management positions within Pfizer Ireland and UK and Bayer, Ireland. Brian holds an MBA from Henley College of Business Management and a Marketing Diploma from Cork Regional College/Marketing Institute of Ireland. He currently serves on a number of Boards, including BIOCOM, Aquavit Biopharma, and the San Diego Century Club.

About Acucela Inc.

Acucela Inc. (www.acucela.com or www.acucela.jp) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that specializes in discovering and developing novel therapeutics to treat and slow the progression of sight-threatening ophthalmic diseases impacting millions of individuals worldwide. The Company currently has three product candidates in development: emixustat hydrochloride for AMD, rebamipide ophthalmic suspension for dry eye syndrome and OPA-6566 for ocular hypertension and glaucoma, all of which are being co-developed in the United States with Otsuka Pharmaceutical. Based on Acucela's core technology, Visual Cycle Modulation (VCM), the investigational compound emixustat hydrochloride is being evaluated to treat GA associated with dry AMD. Rebamipide ophthalmic suspension, being developed for dry eye syndrome in the United States, is marketed in Japan under the trade name Mucosta® Ophthalmic Suspension UD2% by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. OPA-6566, an adenosine A2a receptor agonist, is being investigated as an ophthalmic solution for lowering intraocular pressure in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension patients under a co-development agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical.

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